US senators are working through the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as GOP senators floated a plan unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown
The impact on Americans from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were compelled to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As Saturday's meeting got under way, Republican senators embraced a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be substituted by HSA-style accounts.
"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking Insurance Companies in order to save the ineffective Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump posted.
GOP Support
Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and displayed a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator wrote in reply to Trump's proposal. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Response
Democratic lawmakers shared concerned responses to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the censure of insurance companies by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? Then I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Talks
The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an emerging plan from a small group of moderate Democrats to end the closure in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an proposal to reopen the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before negotiating the long-term of the tax credits.
"Inaction is irresponsible because citizens will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of several Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some observers indicated that the core of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump returned to his residence and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
